On my own Accord

Friday came around fast, but given that Monday past was a holiday there’s little wonder why. I was up on time but could’ve used more sleep.  I tossed and turned through most of the night never getting the quality sleep I craved. Perhaps it was work, or possibly the new car deal, but I didn’t feel stressed or overwhelmed.

I completed exercises, sipped coffee, and played around on the PC for the first half hour of the morning. The threat of rain loomed large. In fact, midway through meditation it started to rain, lightning and thunder – a familiar scene this summer. There wasn’t any chance of me heading out for a run in it. And even though it was a whooper of a storm, it didn’t look like it would last.

I had my work laptop logged on so if push came to shove, I could work from home until after my run. The sky brightened around 7am and I quickly readied and headed out for my run. It was nice and steamy, still no-shirt running weather. I ran the full 4.1 miles with any trouble. In fact, the few sprinkles and moist air felt terrific.

I didn’t make it back from my run until 740am or so. I didn’t plan to hurry.  Instead, I planned to carry on as usual by making my lunch and breakfast, and then of course, a shower. It was darn near 830am when I headed up for a shower. I was showered and ready for work a little before 9am.

I was looking forward to picking up my new Accord but held out hope that the sky would continue to clear. Judging from the radar, it looked like it would be sunny in about an hour. Mindy asked that I give her a call once I had the car. I made sure I had everything I needed to complete the car transaction (Trooper title and a copy of the Pilot registration). I had Mindy help consolidate both sets of Trooper keys. I left the house for work sometime around 910am.

Work was fairly calm. Followed up on the work related matter that kept me busy late into Thursday night. That was pretty much under control. Chris from Germain Honda called around 1130am to let me know my new Accord was ready for pick-up. Once again he offered to deliver it. I thanked him but shared that I could use the break, and really wanted to get away. Agreed to meet near 1pm.

I was a tad nervous that something might go awry with the Trooper on the drive up to Germain. But as fate would have it, things went smooth. It’s less than six miles from my office. Thought it was longer.

Before going inside, I emptied the rest of the Trooper contents (mostly trash) into an old Target bag. After one last look, I headed in to meet Chris and get my car. Chris wasn’t immediately available. One of his peers recognized me from the night before and shared that he was off getting my car. He pulled up a minute or two later in my new Accord.

He asked where the Trooper was parked so he could remove and handover the license plates. He offered that I drive the Honda around to meet him. I did as he requested but with much trepidation. I was double-extra nervous, and driving very defensively.

We didn’t waste too much time, maybe five minutes. Chris offered to program the Bluetooth feature but I declined, instead telling him that I’d figure it out myself. I was eager to head off in my new car. Germain is located on Sawmill just south of the I-270 interchange. The only option is to turn right (south) out of their lot onto Sawmill. I could’ve exited via the back lot and made my way to Federated and then a light allowing me to go north, but opted to head south on Sawmill with little to no more parking lot cruising.

I drove all the way to

Bethel Rd

on Sawmill. I think I got stopped at every stinkin’ light. Back at the office I parked far removed from any other cars. There are 5 or 6 cars that routinely do the same thing. I used to do that with the Trooper for the first few years. One of my buddies was just driving by. Said he loved my new Honda.

Happily, the afternoon went smoothly. I kept busy with customer related stuff. Talked with Mindy late afternoon. She said the kids were holding out hope that I’d be home with my new car before they had to leave with their dad for the weekend.  They went to lunch with Gloria at the Rusty Bucket where Joe-Joe works. He was their server, in fact. After lunch, Mindy took the kids to the Lennox AMC to see Mr Poppers Penguins starring Jim Carrey.

I ended up at the office until just after 5pm. Incidentally, it had been sunny and warm since about 10am. In fact, it was hot when I left the office for home. Before leaving the parking lot I programmed the hands free bluethooth feature and made a call to Mindy to give it a try. Talked with her for a large portion of my commute home. The kids were already gone.

Mindy was waiting by the front door when I pulled up. Came out to see the new car. We didn’t even bother going in before heading off for a little drive around the subdivision. I pulled over a few blocks form home and let her drive some. And yes, I was very nervous.

Thankfully, Mindy got us back home safely and without incident. We discussed out evening plans which included a trip to Barley’s. We hadn’t had a kidless Friday since June 10^th. Mindy asked which vehicle we’d be taking. I didn’t want to drive the Accord. She agreed. We’d drive the Pilot. We also decided that we wouldn’t be leaving until near 7pm. We headed out on the deck, where I sipped some iced tea and chatted about our weekend plans and such. I thought I might take a short nap but never did.

Rachel cleaned the house while Mindy and the kids were away. It looked really nice. We talked briefly about our Saturday plans too. Thought we might make our first trip to Yellow Springs this year. I also needed to cut the lawn and hopefully finish the wrap around benches on the new portion of the deck where the hot tub used to reside.

While Mindy freshened up, I played around briefly on my PC. Then, after I freshened up, we left for Barley’s sometime just ahead of 7pm. We’d be meeting the Jump’s there. They called mid-afternoon and shared that they decided to make it down to Columbus afterall. Planned to meet at Barley’s.

The Jump’s were already there when we arrived and had a table on the patio. We joined them there. Hadn’t seen them since October. Kids, Porter and Ella have grown quite a bit since we last saw them. Ella’s changed the most. She’s become the rowdy one. Jump’s shared that they spent the afternoon at the new Scioto Mile park downtown in the fountains. We laughed about the fact that they’re out of towner’s yet they have seen more of downtown that us.

Stephanie was our server. Jeremy recommended the new Belgian Galaxy hopped IPA. Having tried the firkin version last Friday evening, I went with his recommendation. It was delicious. Not sure if Mindy was drinking. If she was, I am sure she had a Cup o’ Joe.

Everybody was eager to order food. By the time that Stephanie made her way around to me I decided that I really wasn’t interested in a meal. However, Mindy did talk me into sharing a plate of their yummy loaded fries.

Not sure what time it was when Bob & Mary Ann showed up, but it was shortly after Mindy received a text indicating that they were coming down the hill. While golfing together on Sunday, Bob shared that their dog of 16 years, Bayla wasn't doing well and was struggling to fight off pneumonia. Said he didn't think she'd make it much longer. I could tell he was a torn up inside.

Mary Ann looked a wreck. We all could tell something wasn't right. Sure enough, they had to put Bayla down on Wednesday. Mary Ann, no doubt, was taking really hard. Bayla was their kid. Just in the last few years, all three of our families have had to say goodbye to a long held family dog. Molly, the Jump's black lab. They did everything with her before the kids arrived, including taking her on vacation and trips to the Alum Creek dog beach. Of course we lost Sparky a year and a half ago, and now the Imber's have lost Bayla. We understood their pain.

We a nice time sitting on the patio enjoying some beers. A little later we were joined by Thad and Monica. They didn't stay too long, however. Through the night, I had a total of 4 beers (2- Belgian IPAs, 1 Nugget Nectar, and 1 cask conditioned Centennial). All were exceptional.

I picked up the tab, and Mindy drove home. I'm thinking it was around 11pm when we arrived. Mindy wasn't in the mood to visit the neighbors. Said she was extremely tired. Went straight to bed. I joined her a few minutes later after checking on the Reds score. Good night and goodbye Isuzu Trooper. Sleep well.